House insurance and doing building work

Bricks

I'm in the process in looking for building insurance for a flat I have just bought.

In some of the forms I am asked whether there is any building work underway. There isn't at the moment but there will be in the near future.

I will be doing most of this work myself. All work will be internal with the exception of the installation of a skylight. There will be structural alterations to internal walls but these will of course be done according to building regs and so forth.

My questions are:

1) If I start doing building work is it liable to give grounds for the insurer to refuse to pay out in the instance of a claim? Is this something I need to specifically check for in the terms and conditions?

2) Even if doing the work doesn't contradict any T&Cs of my insurance policy, would people recommend taking out some kind of extra insurance to cover things that might happen in the course of the building work? I know you can opt for "accidental damage" cover but would that normally cover accidents caused as a result of building work?

Any thoughts much appreciated!

Thanks

huckster

Is this flat not Insured with other flats in the block ? Often with flats outside of Scotland, they are Insured under a block of flats type policy, which is paid via maintenance/community fee. If it is Insured with other flats, then you just need to inform the current Insurers and whoever deals with the management of the flats.

If your flat is definately not Insured under a block arrangement, then I would suggest that you discuss with a local broker. It is a bit more complicated than your post considers. Some Insurer won't cover it, because of the unnoccupany and then works. Some won't cover it, if you are doing it up to let out or sell. Hence why you need to discuss with a broker, so you can get the right policy.

It might be worth contacting Towergate, who are one of the largest brokers and therefore have a large range of policies available.

Bricks

There are just two flats, one upper and one lower, and the flat comes with share of freehold. So I do definitely need to sort the insurance (although I guess that could potentially be done jointly with the owners of the other flat?).

Good point about the unoccupancy though. How is that defined though? I will be there most days, in the week at least, although not often overnight. I guess that's a detail I'd need to check with any insurance company.

huckster

Bricks wrote: »

There are just two flats, one upper and one lower, and the flat comes with share of freehold. So I do definitely need to sort the insurance (although I guess that could potentially be done jointly with the owners of the other flat?).

Good point about the unoccupancy though. How is that defined though? I will be there most days, in the week at least, although not often overnight. I guess that's a detail I'd need to check with any insurance company.

Unoccupancy= not slept in regularly overnight and also some Insurers also apply terms if the house is not furnished for habitation. So even if you spent the odd night in a sleeping bag on the floor, that would not be enough to be considered occupied.

check with the other flat owner how their flat is insured. If you have just bought the flat, is there an ongoing Insurance for the 2 flats, with the previous owner noted, that just needs updating.

Quite often where you share the freehold, the Buildings Insurance is done together.

Bricks

Yes, will try and get in touch with the other owners (the other falt has just been sold too so it's a good opportunity to set something up jointly).

Do you know whether the fact that I might be doing some building work is likely to be a problem under the terms of most policies?

May try contacting Towergate as you suggest.

huckster

Bricks wrote: »

Yes, will try and get in touch with the other owners (the other falt has just been sold too so it's a good opportunity to set something up jointly).

Do you know whether the fact that I might be doing some building work is likely to be a problem under the terms of most policies?

May try contacting Towergate as you suggest.

The building work described in itself is not the problem. It will be unnoccupancy and what your future intentions are with the property that will be more of concern. If you are to let it out or sell, this will affect the type of policy offered.

Bricks

Ok. Thanks for your comments huckster. I've done a bit more research and have sent enquiries to a couple of firms which offer renovation/unoccupance insurance and will see what they come back with.

The intention is to live in it once I'm finished with the work.

Bricks

Well, I tried Towergate but as soon as I mentioned I'd be doing work to a loadbearing wall, they weren't interested. Likewise Adrian Flux.

However, buildstore.co.uk have given me a quote. The price is reduced by quite a bit if the public and employee liability is omitted. Would doing without this be foolhardy? I won't be employing anyone. As for public liability... I was wondering if it would make sense to cover this with another insurer. Omitting these would save me over £200.


Another question... possibly a stupid one... I'm a bit confused about what my buildings insurance actually covers. The quotes are based on me giving details for my flat, so the insurance obviously covers my flat but what about the rest of the building? If something happened to the lower flat, that had a knock on effect on mine, would I be covered for that, or would I have to rely on a claim on their insurance?

huckster

I think you are going to need to make sure you have liability cover, particularly if you are getting works done yourself. What happens if the whole building collapses?

There appears to be a number of suppliers of Buildings Insurance to cover extensive renovations to unnoccupied properties. Google Buildings Insurance for renovations.